Rural homelessness is often overlooked. Pilot program in Cedar Springs wants to change that.

Homelessness has a different look in a city than it does in rural areas, and somehow it feels easier to overlook.

Homelessness may be greater in rural areas than in cities.

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Dennis Van Kampen, executive director and CEO of the Grand Rapids nonprofit Mel Trotter Ministries, joined Stateside to talk about a pilot program aimed at helping homeless families in rural Cedar Springs, and take on the problem of rural homelessness more broadly.

Listen to learn how the homelessness crisis may actually be greater in rural areas than in cities. You'll also hear Van Kampen’s perspective on how to best address the problem.

A non-profit in Grand Rapids says it’s reached an agreement to buy 177 homes to preserve affordable housing in the region.The Inner City Christian Federation, or ICCF, plans to buy the homes from a Chicago-based investment company, known as RDG. Michigan Radio first reported in April that RDG had quietly become the single largest investor in single family homes in Grand Rapids, with more than 140 properties in the city alone.

ICCF says its purchase agreement is for 177 homes in Grand Rapids, Wyoming and Eaton Rapids, near Lansing.